Iced Earth - Framing Armageddon - Music & Performance - CD

Iced Earth have been around for over 20 years, paying their dues, enjoying some highs and undergoing a string of lineup changes. A metal band in the true tradition of the genre, they haven't strayed from their roots over the course of their history. And why would they? They love it, it's energizing, and it's what their fan base wants. No pandering to trends here. Sure, there are touches of thrash and nu metal, but let's just put that down to adding strings to the bow over the course of a couple of decades.

Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 is exactly what we've come to expect from Iced Earth: epic sonics, mythical tales, heart-pumping classic metal. Beautifully bombastic as all the great metal acts have been, theirs is the sound of hubris and victory. No gloom and doom and devil worship here.

The album winds its way through 19 tracks that are a mix of epics, power numbers and short vignettes (most of which are instrumentals). There are key influences quite prevalent throughout, most noticeably Dio and Iron Maiden, and, to a lesser extent, Deep Purple and its various offshoots. You can hear these things in cuts like the very Dio-esque "A Charge To Keep" in which the chugging, churning axes are complemented with some epic vocal work.

"Ten Thousand Strong" explodes out of the previous number -- the subdued "Reflections" -- with galloping axes and a vocal scream. This one is deeply rooted in classic metal and has energy to burn -- as well as some dual guitar work reminiscent of Thin Lizzy. Meanwhile, "The Clouding," which is the longest cut on the album at just over nine minutes, is the disc's magnum opus, referencing the likes of White Snake and Black Sabbath (highlighted by some serious Tony Iommi-like riffage).

For a really wild ride, you can kick out the jams with the speed demon "Framing Armageddon" or stomp on the accelerator with "Infiltrate And Assimilate" which also keys in on some twin guitar thrills and ear-catching off-beat drum work.

The true beauty of this album is the way it rises and falls, howls and whispers. It covers many moods while never straying too far from what makes this band great: old-school, guns-blazing, heavy metal. Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 will hit you right between the ears.